Back with a gang

Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla were the two leading lights of the Indian cinema when I was a cub reporter. I was totally in awe of them then and still am. So nothing much has changed I guess. They ruled the screen in divergent ways. Madhuri was counted to make the screen sizzle with her sexy oomph while Juhi was the proverbial good girl next door, the ideal bahu material that guys fantasized about taking home to their moms. Both had a set of loyal fans and much was written in the press then of their purported rivalry.

Unlike the twitter era of today when a star’s merest sneeze starts trending, their stony silence towards each other gave much fodder to the gossip mags. Unlike today, where the paparazzi are quick to click every handshake, every hug like they are reporting live from Cannes, the time when these two beauties reigned, the access to photographs was much less and they were less discreet too. There was no rush to feed the ever growing maw of entertainment channels. As a result, much of the star’s private life remained hidden and whatever was discussed too was shrouded in speculation. We groaned at their alleged heartbreaks, lived vicariously through them and wished them all the luck in the world when they got married. Both Madhuri and Juhi went on to become the perfect wives and ideal mothers and we celebrated that phase with them.

The fact that we didn’t know much about our stars added to their aura, an enigma that’s still somewhat intact. So to see two ’90s stars doing a film together, being happy in each other’s space and behaving like two long-lost friends feels extra special to those of us still adhering to old school values. It makes our hearts fill with pride to see them both together on our cover. We were jittery about getting them together but the whole process was as smooth as a warm knife going through a bar of butter.

Gulaab Gang seems to be a step in the right direction. It’s high time acclaimed actresses got their due. If we can have 40 and even 50-plus leading men then what’s wrong with mellow beauties getting author-backed roles? Age is just a number after all and so are box-office figures. One needs to have faith in one’s product and make a straight- from-the-heart film. The rest will follow.